Publisher Description

Doctor Who – new dawn explores the latest cultural moment in this long-running BBC TV series: the casting of a female lead. Analysing showrunner Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker's era means considering contemporary Doctor Who as an inclusive, regendered brand. Featuring original interview material with cast members, this edited collection also includes an in-depth discussion with Segun Akinola, composer of the iconic theme tune's current version.

The book critically address the series' representations of diversity, as well as fan responses to the thirteenth Doctor via the likes of memes, cosplay and even translation into Spanish as a grammatically gendered language. In addition, concluding essays look at how this moment of Who has been merchandised, especially via the 'experience economy', and how official/unofficial reactions to UK lockdown helped the show to further re-emphasise its public-service potential.

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An exciting new beginning for Doctor Who calls for new analysis. Responding to the call, this volume presents thirteen chapters that investigate the thirteenth Doctor across multiple dimensions. Doctor Who - new dawn explores the latest cultural moment in this long-running BBC series: the casting of a female lead. Following the reveal that Jodie Whittaker would be the thirteenth Doctor, the series was caught up in controversy, as people speculated whether she would be presented differently to her predecessors. Analysing Whittaker's era so far, the collection addresses how the show has been positioned as an inclusive brand. It features an in-depth discussion with Segun Akinola, composer of the present theme and incidental music, as well as original interview material with Mandip Gill, guest star Julie Hesmondhalgh and casting director Andy Pryor. It also includes an analysis of screenwriting that considers how the thirteenth Doctor's era of spectacular TV has been created and how it has diversified representations of gender, queerness, race and family. Looking beyond the television show, three chapters address fan responses to the thirteenth Doctor via memes, the activities of Dutch cosplayers and translation into Spanish. Finally, several chapters look at how the current moment of Doctor Who has been merchandised, proliferating in the 'experience economy' and via public service reactions to 2020's first lockdown in the UK.

Author Biography

Brigid Cherry, PhD, is an independent scholar, retired from the position of Research Fellow in Screen Media at St Mary's University
Matt Hills, PhD, is Professor of Media and Film at the University of Huddersfield
Andrew O'Day, PhD, is an independent scholar

Table of Contents

Introduction: new dawn, new moment – Brigid Cherry, Matt Hills and Andrew O'Day
Part I: Creating Thirteen
1 Variations on a theme: temporal and cultural diversity in Segun Akinola's music for Doctor Who – David Butler
2 'She is wise and unafraid': writing the first female Doctor and a diverse universe for her to protect – Rosanne Welch
3 Shooting stars: modes of TV spectacle in the Jodie Whittaker era of Doctor Who – Dene October
4 About time: addressing intersectionality in the casting and performance of Chris Chibnall/Jodie Whittaker era Doctor Who– Christopher Hogg
Part II: Diversifying Doctor Who
5 Casual queerness and desire lines in Doctor Who– Lorna Jowett
6 Postracial amnesia: Doctor Who in the Brexit era – Susana Loza
7 All in the 'fam': interrogating kinship networks with the thirteenth Doctor – Hannah Hamad
Part III: Fan responses
8 Doctor Whumour: internet meme culture, Chris Chibnall's Doctor Who and fan mockery – Brigid Cherry
9 Braces, culottes and coloured stripes: constructing and characterizing Doctor Who's Thirteen in fashion design and cosplay – Nicolle Lamerichs
10 Regendering and the chaos of translation: fan practices and reception of the female Doctor in Spanish fandom – Saida Herrero
Part IV: Beyond the text
11 By any other name: gender and Doctor Who Barbie dolls, adventure dolls and 1:6 scale figures– Victoria L. Godwin
12 Outside the box in the Chris Chibnall/Jodie Whittaker era: Doctor Who's experience economy and tourism – Paul Booth
13 The thirteenth Doctor during UK lockdown: paratexts of hope and care – Matt Hills
Index

Long Description

Doctor Who - new dawn explores the latest cultural moment in this long-running BBC TV series: the casting of a female lead. Analysing showrunner Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker's era means considering contemporary Doctor Who as an inclusive, regendered brand. Featuring original interview material with cast members, this edited collection also includes an in-depth discussion with Segun Akinola, composer of the iconic theme tune's current version. The book critically address the series' representations of diversity, as well as fan responses to the thirteenth Doctor via the likes of memes, cosplay and even translation into Spanish as a grammatically gendered language. In addition, concluding essays look at how this moment of Who has been merchandised, especially via the 'experience economy', and how official/unofficial reactions to UK lockdown helped the show to further re-emphasise its public-service potential.

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